


Blessed Be

by droidfucker



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Aromantic Character(s), Asexual character(s), Bisexual Dean Winchester, Demiromantic Dean Winchester, Demisexual Castiel, Drunk Castiel, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Fairy Gilda, Hunter Dean, Hunter Sam, M/M, Panromantic Castiel, Snarky Castiel, Underage Drinking, Wiccan Castiel, Witch Castiel, familiar hannah, modern witches, nonbinary Castiel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-13
Updated: 2016-01-17
Packaged: 2018-05-06 13:58:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5419643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/droidfucker/pseuds/droidfucker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel Novak is an 18 year old witch living in Salem, Massachusetts who just wants to get through high school in peace; enter Dean Winchester, a very well known hunter, that won't stop until he finds out what the hell is going on with the Novak family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I Have The Touch

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I'm from New Mexico & have never been to Salem so the attitude towards Wicca is probably inaccurate. I am Wiccan however this is not a 100% accurate fic; wiccans cannot slam doors shut with a click of their fingers in reality. This version of wicca is inspired by Buffy The Vampire Slayer and The Craft. 
> 
> This fic is being beta's by charliescastiel

Castiel did not have friends.

Admittedly he had a couple in kindergarten but now that he had grown up, entering his last year of High School, he had no one. He was unsure if it was due to his quietness or the fact many of his ancestors were known to have been persecuted during the Salem Witch Trials. However, he did know that those who sought out to be his friends were only interested in his past, not his personality. Though he was close to his large number of relatives, apparently it wasn’t socially acceptable to call his brothers and sisters his friends. He found that ridiculous. He enjoyed their company and they understood him; though Gabriel and Lucifer may get on his nerves at times with ridiculous pranks that could possibly out them to any hunters who pass through Salem. Of course, there were rumours about the Novak family, how couldn’t there be? Especially in a town where the Witch Trials were held; he had no idea why his family would stay after that. They were the only Wiccan family left in Salem, it seemed everyone else had the sense to leave.

Castiel sighed as he clipped on his pentacle necklace, it was for protection, anyone who bothered to pick up a book would know, but children his age would wear them as a sign of rebelling to their parents as if it meant they were worshipping some devil. Tasteless. He grabbed his bag from where it sat at his feet, slinging it over his shoulder as he looked in the mirror with a slight grimace. Perhaps he could have tried to fit in like his brothers; but Wicca was important to him. It wasn’t some game to Castiel, or some way to get back at others and he certainly wouldn’t hex anyone… Unless the context demanded it. He always used White Magic.

He blew out the candles on his altar and straightened the athame before heading out the bedroom door, clicking his fingers as he walked down the stairs and causing his bedroom door to slam shut. Castiel smirked to himself when he heard the sound of his brother, Gabriel, falling out of bed upstairs as he walked down the long winded stairs of their home.

He slipped into the large kitchen silently, passing his father who sat with a dreary expression on his face, holding a newspaper and swirling his finger as his spoon seemed to stir the coffee itself.

“You shouldn’t be using magic for simple chores, Castiel. It’s lazy.” His father chided, not looking up from his newspaper.

Castiel bit back a snort at the irony, grabbing himself a granola bar from the pantry, “I suppose I’ve learned from the best.” He retorted with a roll of his eyes.

His father sighed, looking up from the newspaper and giving Castiel a stern look that didn’t seem to faze the boy. Perhaps it was the fact he was wearing a disgusting blue robe; somehow he seemed less threatening in the mornings.

Castiel sighed dramatically back at his father as he walked towards the back door, “I’m not Gabriel or Luc, and I don’t use magic in public.” He called back, slipping out the door before his father could make another comment.

He smiled fondly when a small black cat approached him at the bottom of the steps outside the door, rubbing against his legs and purring as she looked up at him with bright blue eyes, “Go out on another adventure, Hannah?” He teased as he crouched down to gently scratch behind her ears. He stroked through her fur a moment longer before standing back up reluctantly, “I’ll see you after school.” Castel assured her, grabbing his bike from where it was leaning against the wall and swinging his leg over it as he watched Hannah retreat through the cat flap in the back door.

The wind swept through Castiel’s dark brown unruly hair as he sped by groups of other students also making their way to school by foot. His face remained stoic as he passed them, easily ignoring the whispers around him as he stopped by the bike rack and locked his up with ease. He toyed with his necklace for a moment before walking up the steps to the school; as he walked through reception he noticed two boys he hadn’t seen before. It was rare they had new students.

Castiel got a glimpse of plaid and noticed one seemed to be around his age while the other must have been a couple years younger; other than that he wasn’t to intrigued by the new students. He shook his head to himself as he walked up to his locker, he would not let anyone distract him. As he stopped outside his locker he stared blankly at the red spray paint; the word “WITCH” sprayed onto the black surface of the locker door. _How original_ Castiel thought bitterly as he put the combination in; opening his bag and beginning to restock his books into the empty space. He took a deep breath as he shut the door gently, making his way to the first class of the day.

 

As Castiel settle down in his desk at the back of the classroom he glanced around; he was a couple of minutes early so the room was not completely filled. He recognised Kevin Tran sitting at the front whispering something about Star Wars to Charlie Bradbury, a redheaded girl who was known throughout the school for being incredibly good with computers and incredibly gay. He noticed Meg Masters with her posse in the opposite corner to him; with their dark clothes and make up. He took his notebook and a couple of pens out of his bag as the room began to fill with students; Castiel recognised some but didn’t care enough to remember all of their names.

By the time Miss Harvelle walked into the classroom most of the seats were filled, save a few scattered across the classroom. Castiel leaned back in his seat as he watched their English teacher walk up to her desk, one of the boys he’d remembered from reception trailing behind her confidentially; it obviously wasn’t the boy’s first time entering a classroom full of strangers. Castiel took the opportunity to take in the new student’s appearance; his worn blue jeans, leather boots, Led Zeppelin band shirt, the red plaid shirt and leather jacket that was only slightly too big for his frame as the sleeves hung over his hands. Castiel then looked up to his face, it was hard to tell how he looked from the back of the classroom but he could make out sandy brown hair; he couldn’t tell if it was styled or just his natural bed head but from his body language he assumed it was styled.

“Class, I’d like you to welcome our new student; Dean Winchester.” Miss Harvelle said as she settled down at her desk, Dean standing beside it as he observed the classroom.

Castiel froze when he heard the boy’s name. _Winchester_. Of course he knew of the Winchesters; anyone with supernatural abilities and their mother knew about the Winchesters. Castiel’s eyes widened when Dean’s eyes landed on him and he almost snapped his pencil in half when he flashed him a cocky smirk. There was no possible way he could know, right? Castiel quickly looked away, self-consciously placing his hand over the pentacle resting on his chest as he took a deep breath.

“Dean, you can take a seat next to Castiel in the back.” Miss Harvelle commented, gesturing to where he was sitting.

Castiel snapped out of himself and looked up, biting back a wince as Dean nodded and made his way over to the empty seat next to him. _Out of all the empty seats…_ He grumbled internally as he briefly considered hexing his English teacher. He fiddles with his pencil as he resists the urge to look over at the _hunter_ sitting directly next to him.

“Hey, Cas-teel?” Dean asked next to him, accompanied by the rustling of his school bag.

Castiel’s jaw clenched in annoyance at the mispronunciation, “Castiel.” He corrected bitterly, keeping his eyes on Miss Harvelle as she began the lesson.

“Castiel.” Dean said slowly, “Okay, Cas, you think you’d be able to show me around this place?” He asked with something else in his tone that Castiel couldn’t quite put his finger on.

Wait. “Did you just call me ‘Cas’?” Castiel asked, finally turning his head to get a look at this Dean Winchester.

“Yeah, well, Castiel is kinda a mouth full.” Dean said with a shrug, a small smirk over his lips when he noticed that the other boy was finally looking at him.

Castiel stared at Dean in silence; the first thought coming to his mind when he looked over being ‘ _eyes that beautiful cannot be natural’_ and he fought the urge to punch himself in the face. He quickly looked away before he could think of counting the freckles that peppered over the other boy’s cheeks. He took a deep breath; sure Dean was attractive, that wouldn’t stop him from hating the hunter’s guts. “Call me Castiel. I am not your friend.” He said sternly, picking up his pencil, “And you should be paying attention to Miss Harvelle. She does not take kindly to students talking over her.”

Castiel bit back a relieved sigh when that seemed to have shut Dean up. Hopefully someone who is more tolerant would be able to handle Dean until he moved onto another state before he, or any other hunters, could become aware of Castiel and his family; he’d have to wait to warn the others of the hunter’s presence in town.

-

As the lesson came to an end Castiel scribbled down the last of his notes before packing his notebook and pens back into his backpack, thankfully the rest of the class had gone by without a peep from the Winchester beside him; though he did sneak a peek at the other boy and noticed he was dozing off on the desk. ‘ _Must be hard work killing innocent witches’_ Castiel thought bitterly, wrinkling his nose to himself as he swung his bag over his shoulder.

“Castiel, can I speak with you?” Miss Harvelle asked from her desk and ‘ _oh crap’_ Castiel hadn’t noticed that Dean was speaking with her.

Thousands of thoughts dashed through his mind as he nodded and gingerly walked over to his teacher’s desk; what if Miss Harvelle was secretly a hunter? What if he was going to get detention for being rude to Dean? What if they was found out? Were they going to burn him? Castiel held his breath as he reached the teacher’s desk, standing next to Dean but determined not to look his way.

“Castiel, Principle Adler told me you and Dean have the same timetable; I’d like you to show him to his classes.” Miss Harvelle explained, looking between the two boys with a stern expression.

For a moment Castiel opened his mouth to protest but it quickly died on his tongue as Miss Harvelle quirked a brow at him, “Of course, Miss Harvelle.” He murmured quietly, his jaw clenching. He was almost certain that his teacher was plotting his demise; perhaps a hex bag in her desk wouldn’t hurt.

“Great.” Miss Harvelle said happily, the stern look fading from her features, “Now, go get to your next class before you’re late.” She chastised as she got back to whatever work she was doing.

Castiel gripped at the strap of his bag as he nodded stiffly, not saying a word to Dean as he led him out of the classroom and down the hall. As he stopped outside his locker, Dean unceremoniously leaning against the one next to him, he winced at the words sprayed there. Any other time he wouldn’t care, he wouldn’t give it a second thought, but now it was practically putting a target on his back for hunters.

“Spray paint on lockers, huh?” Dean asked as he looked over Castiel’s locker before it was swung open, aggressively, “That’s gotta be rough…” He trailed off with what Castiel could only describe as pity. He hate pity.

“It fits my aesthetic.” Castiel deadpanned, shifting so Dean couldn’t see inside his locker and making a mental note to stop hiding charms, spell books and ingredients in his locker while hunters were in town.

“Ah… So, you’re one of those?” Dean asked curiously, gesturing to where Meg Masters and her group of friends were crowded around a locker.

Castiel had to bite back a snort at the idea he would even associate himself with them, “Yes, Dean, I am a total wannabe witch.” He grumbled as he took his books out of his locker and slammed the door shut before the hunter could look inside.

“So, you do know the whole pentacle thing you’re sporting is protection against evil right?” Dean asked with a teasing smirk that Castiel wanted to punch off his face.

“Oh, I thought it meant I worshipped Satan, thanks for clearing that up, freckles.” Castiel drawled sarcastically, shooting him a glare before leading the way down the halls. ‘ _Moron’_ He thought to himself, his heels clinking as he walked and vaguely acknowledged the sound of Dean following him.

“Dude, are you wearing heels?” The hunter asked from behind him after a moment of tense silence and Castiel was almost one hundred percent sure he was just trying to be annoying on purpose. It was obvious he was wearing boots with a slight heel on them.

“Dude.” Castiel repeated as he turned around to look at Dean, the words sounding foreign on his tongue, “They are boots.” He corrected, “And if you have an issue with them find someone else to be your tour guide.” He added, jaw clenched before turning around swiftly and heading towards the class.

He briefly registered Dean grumbling something along the lines of “no wonder the dude’s got no friends.” Before he flicked his wrist subtly, causing the hunter to trip over his own feet and fall onto the ground with an ‘ooft’.

“You should watch where you’re walking, Dean.” Castiel commented as he stopped walking, “I’d hate to see something bad happen to that pretty face of yours.” He added in a teasing tone, stopping at the door of the Biology classroom to look down at Dean’s form on the floor; looking up at him with wide eyes before standing up quickly and heading into the classroom. Castiel smiled to himself before following the hunter.

-

As Castiel settled down in his seat next to Dean; it happened to be the only one left, he would never make the decision to sit with a hunter unless there was no other way. As he looked around the class room he could sense something bad was going to happen and as Miss. Milligan strolled into the room with a cart filled with plastic tubs he started getting queasy.

Quickly, Castiel put his hand up, “Miss Milligan if we’re dissecting frogs today I’d like to remind you I’m vegan and refuse to touch-“ He was cut off by a groan from the rest of his classmates and his jaw clenched.

“I remember, Castiel, your partner will have to do the dissecting and you can take notes.” The teacher responded calmly as she began to place a tub down on each table.

Dean quirked a brow at Castiel as they made eye contact and for a moment the wiccan almost considered the possibility of turning the hunter into a frog before looking away with a small huff.

“C’mon, you’re not one of those vegans who thinks their better than everyone else because you’re not an evil meat eater are you?” Dean mumbled with a snort, leaning back in his seat with his legs spread.

As Castiel looked over at Dean he tried to look anywhere but below his neck as he sent him a sharp glare, “Stop assuming you know anything about me and get to pointlessly dissect the damn frog.” He practically growled in annoyance as he turned back to his bag and began to take out his notebook and pens.

-

“I’ll meet you outside; I’ll clean this up.” Castiel commented stiffly as the rest of the class left the room, looking down at the frog with all of its organs labelled next to it.

“Are you su-. “ Dean almost asked but Castiel threw him another sharp glare which caused him to nod and practically bolt out of the room. The Wiccan would have smirked to himself at the thought of scaring a hunter if not for the dead animal laying on the table before him.

Castiel took a moment to collect himself before pressing the tips of his fingers to the head of the frog, focusing his energy as he murmured; “Cruor pectoris mei, tutela tua est. Vita vitae meae, corripiens meam. Corpus corporris mei, medulla mensque. Anima, animae meae, animam norstram concete. Cruor pectoris mei, luna mei aestus menus. Cruor pectoris mei, fatum meum mea salus.”

As he opened his eyes he smiled to himself, the frog sitting in front of him now breathing and letting out a small croak. Castiel leaned over to open the window of the classroom and gently cupped the frog into his hands, holding it up the window and letting out a relieved sigh before cleaning up the rest of their space, grabbing his bag and slinging it over his shoulder as he stepped out of the classroom.

He started as he turned to go down the hall and was stopped by Dean, _Crap. Busted._ He thought to himself as the hunter quirked a brow at him, “Were you talkin’ to yourself in there?” He asked curiously.

Castiel nodded quickly in response, “Yes, I was, in Latin. I was practicing because…” He trailed off as he recalled his time table for the rest of the day, “We have Latin after lunch.” He said with a nod, not missing the suspicious look Dean shot him as he began to lead him to their next class.


	2. Warning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who've been reading this since I started I combined the first two chapters as I felt it went together better that way <3

The rest of the day seemed to go on without a hitch, Dean hadn’t asked Castiel any further questions on what it was he was doing speaking Latin in the Biology classroom so he’d assumed he had avoided suspicion; at least for the time being. He let out a relieved sigh as he slid off of his bike, leaning it against the wall by the back door before walking inside; his eyes widening as he was greeted with all of his family members.

Anna sat back in her chair with her feet kicked up onto the table, Gabriel sat up on the counter with a lollipop stuck in his mouth with Samandriel next to him and Michael and Lucifer leaned against the wall; all giving Castiel a pointed look with their parents nowhere to be seen. ‘ _Shit._ ’ Castiel thought to himself as Hannah rubbed herself against his legs.

“I hear you cast a spell in school today.” Michael commented, disappointment evident in his tone.

“You can’t prove that.” Castiel retorted instinctively as he went to walk out of the kitchen, wincing when one of his siblings caused the door to slam shut.

“We can… Actually.” Anna butted in, picking up the frog that Castiel hadn’t noticed on the floor, “They always follow you home.” She teased with a smirk as the animal croaked in her hand, “Sloppy.”

“Hey, Cassie, d’you think if you kiss it it’ll turn into a prince?” Gabriel teased as he removed the lollipop from his lips with a disgusting ‘pop’.

Castiel rolled his eyes as he turned to face his siblings, “Gabriel and Lucifer cast spells in public, why can’t I?” He said defensively as he sped over to take the frog from Anna’s hands, “At least I cause no harm to others.” He grumbled, stroking the pads of his fingers over the frog’s head.

 “I caught word of hunters in town.” Michael explained, quirking a brow when he noticed Castiel tense, “Do you know anything about that?” He asked curiously.

“Nope, not at all.” Castiel lied with a shake of his head, walking over and opening the window to let the frog out.

“Are you sure?” Lucifer asked as he watched Castiel, clearly suspicious.

“Yes.” Castiel answered shortly, heading towards the door with Hannah in tow, “If that is all I have homework.” He excused himself before heading up the first set of winding stairs and heading into his room.

He hadn’t bothered locking the door behind himself, knowing very well any of his brothers would use any sort of spell they could find to get their way into his room. With a sigh, Castiel let his bag drop off of his shoulder and onto the ground, startling Hannah slightly and causing her to glare up at him.

“Sorry, Hannah.” Castiel apologised as he fell back onto his bed, his eyes slipping shut.

When his eyes opened again it was to a woman his age standing in the middle of the room with a blue collar around her neck, draped in a flowing black robe. She had deep brown hair and piercing blue eyes identical to the cat. “You know of the hunters, Castiel.” She stated as she sat down next to him on the bed.

“I know of one of them.” Castiel said simply, staring up at the ceiling with a soft sigh, “The Winchesters.

Hannah’s eyes widened as she looked down at Castiel, “You must tell your siblings.” She demanded, he knew his familiar knew of the Winchesters… It was hard not to.

“They know there’s hunters in town; regardless of who they are they should be careful.” Castiel reasoned as he looked over at Hannah for a moment in silence, “I had to give the older Winchester boy the tour of the school.” He commented as he turned his head back towards the ceiling.

Hannah nodded slowly, “How did that go?” She asked stiffly.

“He was an imbecile.” Castiel grumbled, “He tried to correct me on the use of a pentacle, made fun of my boots, compared me to those… Disgusting demons and told me that it was no wonder I hadn’t any friends.” He complained with a small frown.

“He… Hurt your feelings, Castiel?”

Castiel turned to glare at Hannah, “No.” He said sternly, sitting up and unzipping his boots, “I don’t care for what hunters think of me.”

“Is he suspicious of you? He noticed your pentacle..,” The familiar commented, knowingly dropping the subject and gesturing the symbol hanging around Castiel’s neck.

“I don’t believe so…” He murmured as he toed off his boots, “He overheard me resurrecting the frog from biology class.”

Hannah gave Castiel a disapproving look, “You have to be more careful.” She chastised, running her fingers through his hair.

“I am careful.” He grumbled as he looked over at Hannah

-

“I’m telling you, Sammy, something’s weird about this kid.” Dean ranted as he served the delivery pizza onto two paper plates, handing one to his younger brother.

“Are you sure he’s weird, maybe you’ve just got a crush?” Sam offered as he sat down on the raggedy couch in the dingy motel room they were occupying while on the case.

After a moment of stuttering and blushing Dean collected himself and shook his head, “Dude, no, I don’t swing that way.” He grumbled defensively, glaring at Sam when he noticed the roll of his brother’s eyes.

“Okay, so, what’s weird about him?” Sam asked, feigning interest as he took a bite of his pizza.

“I dunno, man. The guy had ‘WITCH’ spray painted over his locker and wore a pentacle… I think I heard him muttering something in Latin.” Dean tried to explain, scratching the back of his neck as he sat down next to Sam.

“Maybe he’s just a Goth kid who’s getting bullied and likes Latin.” Sam reasoned with a shrug, assuming his older brother was just reading into things.

“There’s no way it’s a coincidence; dad’s hunting a witch and this kid gives me eerie vibes.” Dean retorted with a small frown.

“What’s his name?” Sam asked, tilting his head slightly, “I can try and do some research for you… Y’know, make sure he’s not a witch before you make kissy face with each other?” He offered.

Dean blushed deeply, nudging Sam with his foot, “His _name_ is Cast-eel or something. I think his last name’s Novak” He said with a roll of his eye before adding “Bitch.” in a grumble and taking a large bite of his pizza, chewing it obnoxiously.

“Jerk.” Sam retorted with a roll of his eyes.

-

As the sun began to set Castiel changed into his dark black robe, similar to the one Hannah was wearing, and offering her his arm so they could begin their spiritual walk. He supposed it wouldn’t be wise to do with hunters in the immediate vicinity but why should he change his routine due to a couple of denim wrapped nightmares. He was certain he could defend himself against any hunter; even the legendary Winchesters.

As they walked down the partially empty streets, gaining some looks from others; locals who should have been used to the Novak families ‘quirks’ by now. To be fair it must’ve looked strange seeing two eighteen year olds walk down the street; one of which is never seen in the light of day and wore no shoes on her feet.

They walked silently through the woods, enjoying the tranquillity of the nature around them. The soft grass beneath their feet, the cool breeze that swept through their hair and the sounds of the animals. They stopped in their tracks at the sound of a branch breaking in the distance; on instinct they followed the sound which lead them to a clearing where an old man stood.

Castiel quickly led Hannah towards a large tree, hiding behind it in fear of getting caught. No one was every around these parts of the woods; that’s why they had chosen it to be the space in which they went on spirit walks to cleanse themselves before sleep; this was something fare out of the ordinary. Perhaps it was the reason behind the Winchesters being in Salem.

He peered from behind the tree; taking in the surroundings. He noticed the man was wearing a robe that bore a striking resemblance to the robes he and Hannah wore only the markings were slightly different. He wasn’t a part of the Novak Coven. Castiel frowned in confusion, unaware of any other witches entering the town of Salem. The man was murmuring to himself, standing in the centre of a pentacle created out of small stones; he was unable to work out what spell the man was trying to cast.

A noise next to him snapped Castiel out of his snooping, looking back over at Hannah who smiled sheepishly, mouthing a ‘sorry’. He quickly looked back to see if he could find anything else about the man but as soon as looked the man was gone with no trace of him ever being there. He sighed slightly in disappointment before taking Hannah’s arm in her own and leading her back towards the house, trying to shake off the eerie feeling that the mysterious man had left behind.

-

Castiel let his robe drop to the floor after closing his bedroom door behind himself, leaving Hannah downstairs to nap in her cat bed. He bit his lip worriedly as he made his way to the bathroom and ran himself a bath. Whatever the old man in the woods had been up to; it didn’t seem to be good news at all, but he couldn’t decide on whether to tell his family members or… Maybe even the Winchesters…

He snorted to himself, internally slapping himself. Castiel would never in his right mind help hunters. What had they ever done for him? He shook his head as he lit the candles around the bath as well as a stick of sandalwood incense, trying to relax himself as he slid under the lukewarm water. It was going to be a long day tomorrow but perhaps Dean had gotten the message and would leave Castiel alone for good.

-

Once out of the bath Castiel wrapped his towel around his waist and made his way to his queen sized bed, slipping into a pair of boxers as he let the towel drop. He stretched, knots popping in his back and neck as he did so… He made a mental note to relax more as he slid under the silk sheets and burrowed his face into his pillow with a content sigh; beginning to drift off into a peaceful sleep.


	3. Dangerous Type

Castiel woke up earlier the next day, before even his father was awake. He lit a stick of incense, letting the smoke surround the room as he walked to his closet to pick an outfit. For a moment he contemplates toning down his outfits while hunters were in town before changing into a pair of black ripped jeans and a deep black sweater that fell just above his knees; a pentacle embroidered into it.

He then sat down in front of his mirror, briefly glancing over at the clock; seven a.m. He smiled to himself before beginning to precisely paint his nails black, humming to himself as the door was pushed open and Hannah entered. She settled herself down at the end of Castiel’s bed, watching him for a moment before curling up and closing her eyes.

Once Castiel’s nails had dried he careful began to paint his lips black and apply pointed liner to his eyes; smiling to himself once he’d finished. He made his way down the stairs, grabbing the newspaper his father had been reading the day before and scanning it as he grabbed an apple from the pantry.

Leaning against the counter, he took a large bite of his apple and flipped the newspaper open. He flicked through the pages as he chewed, scanning the pages for anything interested.

Pausing, Castiel frowned when he noticed an article about a man who had died. According to the M.E he suffered from choking on his own blood with no evidence of how it happened; he sighed softly. That could be why the Winchesters were in town… It did seem supernatural but it could have been anything. At least that’s what Castiel told himself as he grabbed his bag of lunch from the fridge along with his bag from the rack beside the back door and left without a word; his half eaten apple left on the counter.

Slipping onto his bike he began the ride to school, pushing the article to the back of his mind as he tried to remember if he had anything important to do for school and ‘ _Oh crap.’_ He forgot to write his essay for AP English.

 -

As Castiel settled down in his seat at the back of the cafeteria he pulled out his brown paper bag from his messenger bag; wrinkling his nose the slightest at the smell of his lunch as he began to unravel the Clingfilm surrounding his veggie sandwich. It certainly tasted better than it smelt. He bit back a sigh before taking a bite from it as his eyes scanned the room; Meg was settled on the table next to his with all of her friends and he noticed Charlie Bradbury’s red hair from across the room. She was settled next to her girlfriend, Gilda, who had long curly brown hair and beautiful caramel skin. Charlie’s arm draped around her as she spoke enthusiastically about something Castiel couldn’t hear. Regardless of what it was Gilda was looking at the other girl with pure adoration. Castiel ignored the pang of loneliness as he quickly looked back down at his sandwich with a scowl.

“Glaring at it won’t make it taste any better, love.” A voice came from the seat across from Castiel.

He didn’t have to look up to know whose voice it belonged to; it was Crowley, a crossroads demon who for some strange reason decided to possess a British high school student in an attempt to collect souls.

“It tastes fine.” Castiel grumbled, looking up at Crowley, “What do you want?” He asked stiffly.

“Just seeing how my favourite witch is doing.” The demon tried to feign innocence. ‘ _Ironic’_ Castiel thought to himself.

“I thought your mother was your favourite witch?” He retorted bitterly as he twisted the cap off of his water bottle.

“My mother is never around; you are.” Crowley reasoned with a shrug, leaning in to brush a strand of hair out of Castiel’s face, “And you’re far more powerful than that old wench.” He added with a smirk.

“Charming as ever, Crowley.” Castiel grumbled with an unamused huff as he settled his sandwich down, “Under normal circumstances I’d say you have a soft spot for me but I’m no fool.” He said as he leaned closer to the demon.

“Well, you are quite aesthetically pleasing…” Crowley purred as he wet his lips, Castiel almost cringed in disgust.

“Hey, Cas.” A voice interrupted and Castiel quickly pulled away from Crowley to turn to the owner of the voice in question.

_‘Crap’_

“Oh, Hello, Dean.” Castiel said stiffly as he looked up at him.

“I… Was wondering if you wanted company but it seems like you’re busy.” Dean managed weakly, seeming embarrassed to have interrupted their conversation. He glanced between Castiel and Crowley, clearing his throat awkwardly.

“Oh.” Castiel said with a tilt of his head before looking over at Crowley and nodding, “Yes, we were in the middle of…” He trailed off, trying to come up with an excuse.

“Making out.” Crowley interrupted with a smirk, earning a sharp glare from the Wiccan, tempting him to strangle him the ridiculous tie around his neck. _‘Who even wears a tie to a public school?’_ He thought bitterly to himself.

“I guess… I’ll leave you with your boyfriend then.” Dean said quickly before making a bee line for the table where Charlie and Gilda sat.

“We are not boyfriends.” Castiel stated sternly, his jaw clenched tightly.

“It made the hunter bugger off didn’t it?” Crowley retorted with a roll of his eyes, leaning over to steal a grape from the small container of fruit the other had taken out.

“Great, now the entire school is going to believe I’m dating a slimy demon.” Castiel grumbled to himself as he finished off his sandwich.

“They don’t _know_ I’m a demon.” Crowley commented as he rested his chin on his hand.

“A slimy human then.” He corrected himself as he packed his bag back up, standing up to throw away the remains of his lunch, “If you follow me I will exorcise you.” He spat bitterly as he heard Crowley begin to stand up behind him.

-

Dean settled down at the empty seat across from a girl he’d met the other day, Charlie, he thinks her name was. She seemed cool; friendly unlike Castiel. _‘Seriously, what is that guy’s problem?’_ He grumbled internally as he opened his bottle of Pepsi.

“Hey, Dean-o.” Charlie chimed happily, “This is Gilda, my girlfriend, I told you about her.” She introduced happily.

“Uh, hi.” Dean managed with a small smile, “Could… You guys tell me anything about the Cas guy?” He asked after a moment of silence.

“Castiel?” Gilda offered, “He’s quiet. Sometimes he comes to protests Charlie and I go to.” She reasoned with a shrug.

“Yeah, he’s pretty isolated.” Charlie added honestly, “He’s got a _huge_ family though. His older brother, Gabe, just graduated and they are like… Complete opposites.” She said with a small smirk, “Why’d you wanna know about him?”

Dean shrugged, “No reason; he showed me around the other day and kinda hates me for no reason.” He admitted.

“Don’t take it personally; he hates everyone.” Charlie said with a small shrug.

Gilda rolled her eyes, “He does _not._ ” She defended, giving her girlfriend a slight nudge with a sigh, “He’s just… Odd.” She reasoned, chewing on a carrot stick.

“Yeah, odd’s one way to put it.” Dean grumbled, “His boyfriend wears a fuckin’ tie to school, who does that?”

“Boyfriend?” Charlie and Gilda asked in unison.

“Yeah, about yay high, British and wears a ridiculous suit?” Dean offered, gesturing vaguely.

“Crowley?” Charlie asked slowly.

“Dude, I don’t know his name.” He retorted with a roll of his eyes.

“I thought they hated each other.” Charlie explained with a shrug.

“Maybe they’re having hate sex.” Gilda offered causing Dean to choke on his Pepsi.

-

By the end of the day the rumour about Castiel and Crowley dating had already spread across half of the school; no one bothered to ask either of them if it was true because wouldn’t that be _ridiculous._ Students were either insisting it was a good pairing due to their ‘strangeness’ or arguing it wouldn’t last a day.

Castiel sighed deeply as he shoved his bags into his messenger bag, a grimace on his lips as he pushed Crowley to the back of his mind. He had more things to worry about than a low-level demon trying to get into his pants.

As he closed the door to his locker Crowley seemed to appear out of thin air; leaning against the locker next to his.

“What do you want Crowley?” Castiel asked stiffly, adjusting his bag on his shoulder.

“A goodbye kiss.” Crowley said as he leaned closer.

Castiel pulled away with a glare, “I’d sooner kiss a hunter than an abomination.” He spat bitterly.

And some God must be cursing Castiel because at that moment Dean Winchester sauntered over to his locker, the locker on the other side of the Wiccan.

“Here’s your chance.” Crowley said as he gave Castiel a challenging look.

Before Crowley could say anything else Castiel turned around, grabbing Dean Winchester by the front of his shirt and tugging him down into a hard kiss. For a moment; he thought the hunter would shove him away but ‘ _Crap’_ he was kissing back.

Castiel pried himself away quickly before it could go on any further, looking up at him with a slight grimace as he noticed his black lipstick had transferred slightly onto Dean’s lips. It wasn’t particularly unpleasant… But he certainly wouldn’t do it again. He could feel students’ eyes on them in the hall as he turned around on his heels, carefully fixing his smudged lipstick and flipping Crowley off before heading out the front doors of the school.

What he’d just done hadn’t clicked until he’d reached his bike, unlocking it from its chain as he let out a shaky breath. He’d just kissed Dean Winchester; a _hunter,_ and he’d kissed back… He winced internally as he tried to calm himself down; reminding himself that it was just to prove a point to Crowley. It didn’t _mean_ anything; Dean may be attractive and sure the kiss wasn’t unpleasant in the slightest but he was still a hunter. Castiel resisted the urge to bang his head against the shed before slipping onto the seat of his bike and beginning the journey to the library.

-

The ride to the library seemed to have put Castiel at ease; at least for the time being. He strode into the library with his books in hand; laying them down at the desk as a short woman with dark skin slid behind it. “Hello, Missouri.” He murmured quietly.

“Castiel, you seem troubled.” She commented lightly as she scanned the books back in.

“It’s nothing.” He assured her, “Hunters in town is all.” He explained with a shrug.

“I know.” Missouri said with a small smile and Castiel rolled his eyes, ‘ _Of course she knows’_ He thought to himself as he handed over his library card to her.

She scanned the card and handed back to him with a gentle smile and he thanked her; quickly moving away from the desk before she could sense that he’d just _kissed_ a hunter. _‘Fuckin’ psychics.’_ He grumbled internally as he walked over to a shelf in search of a book for English class.

Running a hand through his hair he picked out a random book off of the shelf; skimming the cover ‘ _The Dwellers by Alyssa Cassese’_. It seemed interesting, walking over to the seats he read the blurb and decided it would fit into his English essay. He set himself down comfortably and began to read; enjoying the peace and tranquillity the library provided.

Moments into the first couple of pages Castiel noticed a jostle in the bookshelf a couple of feet away from him; first assuming a couple was making out behind it. It was more common than you’d think, but after another couple of jostles and a disgusting sound akin to laughter was heard he realised it was not the case.

Quickly, Castiel stood up, making sure to keep his place in the book secure before striding over to where the bullying was happening. Before getting a look at the victim or the culprit he clicked his fingers, causing a book to fly out from the case and hit the bully in his forehead.

“What the hell?” The boy asked, looking over to where Castiel stood.

“Leave him be.” Castiel ordered lowly, his gaze darkening.

“You don’t scare me.” He retorted with an eye roll and God, Castiel was tempted to do something awful to this boy but he refrained.

That would be giving Crowley what he wanted.

“If you do not leave the premises I will inform Missouri; now I’m sure you’re frightened of her.” Castiel retorted, quirking his brow at the boy whose eyes widened before he let go of where he was holding the boy’s shirt and scurried out of the library quickly.

“Thanks for that.” The victim of said boy murmured as he stood up fully, fixing his bag on his shoulder and ‘ _Double crap’._ That was Dean’s brother. A hunter. He’d used a spell in front of a hunter.

Someone truly had it in for him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Dwellers is an actual book by my friend Alyssa I highly recommend you check it out <3  
> Also as a side note; my twitter is @/painstiel you can follow me there for updates about this fic


	4. Jump Into The Fire

Castiel settled down at the table in the library as Sam sat across from him, an awkward silence washing over them. For a moment Castiel wondered if he was about to get shot; the Winchesters weren’t known for being friendly, they were more of the shoot first ask questions never type.

Sam cleared his throat and Castiel looked away from where he’d been concentrating on his painted fingers, “I… Can explain?” He said slowly, biting down on his bottom lip, surprised when the younger boy gestured for him to go on. “I’m not a bad witch.” He offered as he broke eye contact, beginning to fidget with his black ring with an Apatite gem embedded into the front of it. “I’m Wiccan, my family is… We don’t kill or hex; do you know of the rule of three?” He asked as he hesitantly looked back into the younger boy’s eyes. His eyes were a strange hazel shade; unlike Dean’s emerald green.

“Whatever energy you put out into the world comes back to you times three?” Sam asked, brows furrowed slightly.

Castiel nodded, “Whether it’s positive or negative.” He confirmed, “Which is why I would _never_ put a hex or curse on anyone regardless of how I felt about the person. We aren’t a threat.”

There was a moment of silence.

“I believe you.” The younger boy said with a small nod.

Castiel let out a breath of relief, relaxing slowly, “Thank you.” He murmured, rubbing the back of his neck.

Sam tilted his head slightly, “How’d you know I’m a hunter?” He asked slowly, clearly confused.

“I… You’re Dean’s brother.” Castiel said slowly, “Your last name, Winchester, everyone knows of you… Unless they live under a rock.”

“You know Dean?” Sam asked, his eyes widening in realisation, “You’re Castiel.”

“He… Spoke of me?”

“Yeah, he uh… Sent me here to research your family history.” Sam explained with a sheepish smile as he rubbed the back of his neck, “He said you were acting weird, I thought it was just him crushing on you.”

“I don’t befriend hunters.” He explained bitterly with a roll of his eyes, “No offence.”

“But you kissed him.” Sam chimed in, quirking a brow at the boy in front of him, “He told me.”

“To prove a point to Crowley.” He retorted, wrinkling his nose, “I have no intentions of doing it again.”

Sam huffed out a small laugh at that, “Alright, alright.” He said before seemingly thinking something over in his head, “I’ll make you a deal.”

“I thought you were a hunter, not a crossroad demon.” Castiel grumbled with a roll of his eyes as he sat back in his seat, crossing his arms.

“You come to us if you hear anything out of the ordinary and I won’t tell Dean or my dad about you and your family.” Sam offered simply as he stood up and hitched his messenger bag over his shoulder.

“You want me to spy for you?” He asked dryly as he looked up at him.

“Or I tell them everything.”

Castiel considered it for a moment before nodding slowly, “I’ll do it.” He mumbled, uncrossing his arms and picking his book up as he stood up.

“Great.” Sam said happily, picking up the book of his own and heading to check it out with Missouri.

-

As Castiel sat down at the back of his house with Hannah curled up in his lap he took a deep drag of the cigarette between his lips, “I made a deal with a hunter today.” He breathed out as smoke left his lips, causing his familiar’s ears to perk up. “I know.” He grumbled bitterly, “I protected him from a bully in the library with magic… I wasn’t thinking. He turned out to be Dean’s little brother… I have to tell them if I find out anything about the witch who has been killing people.” He explained as Hannah slipped off his lap and with a blink of his eye turned into her human form.

“You fool, Castiel.” Hannah hissed as she gave Castiel’s hair a tug, causing him to wince in pain.

“He was going to tell his father about us; they’d kill us.” He defended with a glare.

“What makes you so sure he’s not going to tell him anyway?” Hannah retorted with a roll of her eyes, her robe flowing with her as she paced, “Are you going to tell your father about this? Gabriel? Lucifer?”

“They don’t have to worry about it.” Castiel insisted as he put the cigarette out in his ashtray and stood up, “Besides; I hear from certain sources Dean has a bit of a crush on me.” He added with a small smirk.

Hannah rolled her eyes, “That makes the situation so much better.” She grumbled, “If you sleep with him so help me Cas-“

“I am _not_ going to sleep with Dean Winchester.” Castiel insisted, “Please, Hannah, I have standards.” He grumbled as he headed inside.

“You slept with Crowley.” Hannah chimed in from behind him, “A low level crossroad demon.”

“We were drunk, it doesn’t count.” Castiel chimed back, looking back at Hannah as he walked up the steps, “And I have no intentions of sharing drinks with a hunter, you have nothing to worry about.”

“Are we talking about that time you and Crowley bumped uglies?” Gabriel asked from the top of the stairs.

“No, we are not.” Castiel growled as he stormed into his room, Hannah trailing behind him before he clicked his fingers causing the door to slam shut. He sighed as he began to get changed into his robe for their spiritual walk, taking deep breaths to calm himself down.

“Are you sure you’re in the mood for our walk?” Hannah asked, trailing her fingers over the edge of Castiel’s desk as she made a point of looking away while he dressed,

“I’m fine, Hannah.” Castiel insisted as he finished changing, “Hopefully this will calm my nerves and clear my mind.” He breathed as he offered Hannah his arm.

Hannah eyed him sceptically for a moment before linking arms with him and leading him down the stairs, “Other than the obvious, how was your day?” She asked curiously as they stepped outside, the cool breeze blowing through their hair.

“Boring; people believed Crowley and I were dating before I proved them wrong.” Castiel explained in monotone.

“Dare I ask how?” Hannah murmured, looking up at Castiel.

“I’d rather not talk about it; may we walk in peace?”

-

As Sam laid down in bed, absentmindedly flicking through the book he’d borrowed from the library, he registered the motel door opening and Dean stepping inside with groceries. “I ran into Castiel at the library.” Sam commented casually.

“Uh… You did?” Dean asked as he unloaded things onto a counter, “You speak to him?”

“Yeah, he got Dirk to leave me alone.” Sam explained with a small smile as he put his book down and hopped off the bed, “He seems nice.” He added as an afterthought.

“He was nice to you?” Dean asked, a twinge of jealousy in his tone.

“Yeah, he’s kinda weird but…” Sam trailed off with a shrug.

“Weren’t you supposed to be researching his family for me? He’s a suspect Sam.” Dean reminded him sternly, taking out two slices of bread and starting to make his little brother a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

“I did.” Sam said with a roll of his eyes, “And there’s nothing up with him; he and his family are squeaky clean. You are free to sleep with him as long as you don’t tell me the details.” He said as he walked over to help him.

Dean opened his mouth for a snappy retort but before a word could escape his mouth he seemed to begin to choke on thin air.

“Dean?” Sam asked worriedly, eyes widening as he rushed over to his brother, “Oh, crap.” He grumbled, wincing internally as a trail of blood made its way down the side of Dean’s mouth. He rushed to wrap his arm around him, tugging him out of the motel. His eyes darted around the dark sidewalk, looking for something; anything to help them. That’s when he spotted two robed figures, as they moved closer he recognised the taller one to be Castiel.

“Castiel!”

-

They walked throughout the forest in peace once more; this time with no disturbances from the man they’d seen the previous night though Castiel briefly considered informing Sam Winchester of what had happened. Perhaps it was relevant to their case, but the consideration flew by before he could even fully register it in his mind.

As they walked back the usually route Castiel noticed two figures in the distance, one man leaning against someone much shorter. From a distance, he assumed it was a drunk leaning against someone for support but as he drew closer he noticed it was the Winchesters.

“Castiel!” Sam yelled from the distance and he frowned in confusion as he walked faster, leading Hannah along with him.

“Sam? What’s wrong?” Castiel said with a frown, noticing Dean had passed out against his younger brother with blood coating his teeth and staining his lips.

“I think it was a hex.” Sam breathed out frantically, “Can you help him, Cas?” He asked, his eyes tearing up as he looked at the Wiccan hopefully.

Castiel glanced at Hannah, who seemed to be unaffected by what was happening, before turning back to the younger Winchester and nodding, “I can try.” He breathed out before taking Dean off of his hands. “We must go to my house, I have ingredients there.” He explained, letting out a small ‘ _ooft’_ as Dean’s dead-weight leaned against him.

-

It was impossible for Castiel to get Dean into his home without waking up the entire house; that is of course how he’d ended up with a hunter lying bloody mouthed in his bed while his family members stood around in shock wondering what possessed the youngest sibling to do such a thing. Gabriel even tried to take his temperature.

After a long debate Castiel had managed to shoo everyone out of the room, including Sam, so he could perform the spell. He’d hoped it would cure Dean; not that he cared about the hunter… He didn’t want Sam to have to go through the pain of losing his brother; he wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

Castiel sat in an empty space by the bed and began to cast a protection circle before placing a red candle into a glass, filling it with water but being sure to stop it half an inch before the wick. Carefully he sprinkled salt into the water around the candle; “With salt, this water is made pure. I give it the power to heal and cure.” He whispered as he concentrated his energy; closing his eyes as he imagined the water and salt glowing a bright light; “A spell was cast with baneful will, a wicked web was wrongly spun, I take away the harm and ill, I now undo what has been done.” He murmured as he lit the wick of the candle.

As the candle burned he focused on it, imagining the water emitting positive energy that should help reverse the hex put on Dean. As the fire reached the water it sputtered out and Castiel gently took it from the glass, “This harmful spell I now negate, return things to their rightful state.” He said sternly before snapping the candle in half.

Thunder clapped from outside as Dean sat up from where he was laying, breathing raggedly and wiping the blood from his mouth, “What the hell?” He asked, voice hoarse as he stared at Castiel with wide eyes.

“You’re welcome.” Castiel breathed out, swaying slightly and feeling faint after using such a large amount of energy on a spell.

“You’re a witch.” Dean stated slowly, “Sam said you were fine.”

“I’m Wiccan. Wow, you hunters aren’t exactly the sharpest tools in the shed.” Castiel slurred out before passing out on the floor, the glass of salt water spilling onto the carpet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like it~ Kudos and comments are appreciated and as always you can contact me on twitter @/painstiel or on tumblr; autisticastiel


	5. All This And Nothing

Five weeks. It had been five weeks since Castiel had spoken to Dean. It was distracting and not in the good way. He could see Dean in classes but before Castiel could even try to speak to him he’d slipped out of the classroom and disappeared off to… Somewhere… Castiel wasn’t quite sure but he must’ve been somewhere with Gilda and Charlie because they seemed to have disappeared as well; never sitting at their usual table in the cafeteria. He knew he shouldn’t really care but he couldn’t stop thinking about that night. He had passed out after reversing the hex on Dean and whatever the curse was it was powerful, Castiel had never passed out during a spell. The only information he had on what happened next were exaggerations from Gabriel as his father looked at him with something Castiel couldn’t describe. He could never really tell what his father was thinking, he constantly had a murderous expression on his face. Gabriel had told him that Dean freaked out before grabbing Sam and pulling him out of the house, the younger Winchester trying to assure his older brother that the Novak family was no threat to them or the community. Evidentially Dean didn’t see it that way and stated he was going to tell his father, John, everything. Yet, no hunters had come knocking on the door so Castiel was reasonably confused… Dean was avoiding him, no one was out to kill him or his family. He had to talk to the Winchesters.

Apparently Dean believed it was time for them to talk as well because as Castiel finished loading his books into his backpack the door was slammed in front of his eyes by none other than the older Winchester boy.

Castiel quirked a brow as he tilted his head up the slightest to look at him, “May I help you?” He asked in a bored tone.

“Cut the crap, Novak.” Dean practically growled, sending shivers down Castiel’s spine though he managed to keep a stone cold expression.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Winchester.” He retorted, tilting his head the slightest.

“What the hell did you do to me?” He demanded, grabbing Castiel by the collar of his sweater and slamming him against the locker which got attention from other students.

“I believe I saved your life? The usual response to that is ‘thank you’ are hunters not aware of the term?” Castiel retorted, keeping his eyes on Dean and noticing the way his eyes flickered to his lips. ‘ _Interesting’._ He cleared his throat, starling the hunter slightly.

“You put a love spell on me.” Dean insisted as he gave Castiel a harder shove, causing him to wince.

“I can assure you I did no such thing I don’t know where this assumption is coming from.” He managed as he steeled himself, glancing at the students watching them, “Are you sure you want the entire school to hear all of this?”

“What don’t want the school knowing you’re a dirty witch?” Dean mumbled bitterly, causing Castiel flinch before aggressively pushing the hunter off him with all the force he could.

“I don’t need a love spell to make people love me, I know I’m attractive and if I wanted anyone I wouldn’t want a disgusting hunter.” Castiel spat, “Guess you fell in love with a dirty witch but don’t worry I’ll never return your feelings so get over it.” He grumbled, glaring at him before storming off.

-

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Castiel groaned to himself as he walked up to the bike shed noticing the tires of his bike were popped beyond repair, he rubbed his eyes which were still puffy from his argument with Dean and he thanked God that he made the decision to go make up free. It would have been a waste of good eye make-up.

As Castiel made his way back to the front of the school it began to rain, droplets pouring from the sky onto his skin. He tried to laugh but it came out strangled as he felt his eyes begin to well up with tears again, it was truly not his day.

He settled down onto the curb of the school, the rain beginning to get heavier, to the point of seeping through Castiel’s thick sweater as he fished his phone from his bag so he could text one of his siblings for a lift. He sniffled slightly, wincing as a tear slid down his cheek. He wiped it away with his sleeve roughly before typing out a message, rain droplets covering the screen of his phone and making it harder for him to type.

“Hey.” A voice from above him said quietly, he recognised it as Sam Winchesters. _‘The day keeps getting better’_ He thought as he made no move to look up at him, “What’s up?” He asked, moving to sit down next to Castiel, “I heard you and Dean… Had a fight it’s kinda all around the school.” He murmured.

Castiel managed a broken laugh at that, “He thought I put a love spell on him.” He managed quietly, his voice hoarse as he looked away from his phone to Sam whose floppy hair was soaked by the rain.

“That’s not why you’re upset.” Sam said as he moved the wet hair from his eyes, “Dean says a lot of things he doesn’t me-“

“He called me a dirty witch, Sam, and trust me when a hunter says you’re a dirty witch they mean it.” Castiel interrupted as he looked away, “And I don’t care what he thinks; he’s got some school boy crush on me but it’ll go away. I’m _upset_ because some asshole slashed my bike tires and now it’s raining and well, would you look at that my older brother is at work so he can’t pick me up fan-fucking-tastic.” He rambled as he shoved his phone away.

Sam was silent for a moment and Castiel hoped the younger boy would just get up and go away. “This is probably a bad idea but maybe Dean can give you a ride?” He suggested quietly.

“You’re right that’s an awful idea.” Castiel agreed as he looked towards the ground, his eyes trained on his boots as he took a deep breath, “No offence but I would rather eat my own foot than be in a car with a hunter.”

“Hey, Sammy, come on we have to-“A voice behind them called before stopping abruptly as it got closer. Dean.

Castiel quickly stood up, “Thank you for the offer Sam but I have to go.” He said, making a point not to look back to where Dean was as he made his way out of the school gates quickly.

-

As Castiel dragged his legs behind himself he shivered, the rain still pouring down heavily which was now paired with a cold wind to make everything worse. He wrapped his arms wound himself, his teeth chattering as cars zoomed past. He tensed as an old classic car rolled up next to him, causing him to jump the slightest. It was rare there would be kidnappings in Salem but given the day Castiel was having anything could happen.

Slowly, the window rolled down to reveal Dean Winchester with his younger brother in the passenger seat and a grimace on his lips, “Get in the car.” He grumbled as he looked up at Castiel.

“Try and sound more convincing.” Castiel deadpanned, wrapping his arms tighter around himself.

“Just get in before I change my mind.” He muttered, rolling the window back up as he rolled his eyes at him.

Castiel hesitated before opening the backseat door and sliding in quietly, keeping his head down as he closed the door behind himself.

“Don’t get any water on the seats.” Dean commented from the front seat as the car started up.

Castiel opened his mouth, about to retort but with a pleading look from Sam he snapped it shut and turned to look out the window with his jaw clenched as he swallowed down his insult.

-

The ride was silent apart from the classic rock music that was playing quietly on the record player of what Castiel had recognised as a 1967 Chevy Impala. It was well maintained for an old car but Castiel would never dream of telling Dean what he thought, hunters did not deserve his compliments or time.

Once the car was parked outside his home he quickly slid out of the car and ran up to the door without a passing thank you. It made sense seeing as Dean owed him and it wasn’t like the hunter had thanked him for saving his life which was, admittedly, slightly more important than a ride home.

Castiel swung the door open quickly, slamming it behind himself as he removed his bag from his shoulder and tossed it to the side with a sigh. As soon as the door had shut behind him Hannah, in her human form, ran up to him with a worried expression on her face, “You’re late.” She stated cupping his cold and wet face.

He huffed out a small laugh, forcing a smile before pulling her into hug, “Missed you too.” He mumbled, feeling her tense before relaxing into him.

“You’re wet.” Hannah stated with a frown, picking at his soaked sweater as she pulled back to look at him.

“It’s raining.” Castiel reasoned with a shrug as he moved to slide his boots off, “I’ve had a bad day… Can we spend tonight inside?” He asked as he padded down the hallway towards the kitchen.

“Would you like to… Talk about it?” Hannah asked slowly as she followed him, grimacing at her own words. She wasn’t the most in tune with her emotions; she never talked about feelings.

Castiel huffed slightly as he took a mug out of the cupboard, tossing a bag of herbal tea into it, “I’m fine, Hannah. It’s nothing you should concern yourself with.” He assured her.

“It’s not more Winchester trouble is it?” She asked, leaning against the counter as she watched him.

“Not Winchester trouble you or the family need to concern yourself with.” Castiel stated as he poured hot water into the cup, “He thought I put a love spell on him but it turns out he has a ridiculous crush on me.” He explained, letting his tea brew.

“That is trouble.” Hannah tried to insist, “You can’t have a…. _Hunter_ crushing on you, Castiel.”

“It’s not trouble if it’s what’s stopping him from telling his father about us.” He reasoned, looking over at Hannah with a raised eyebrow, “Jealous?” He asked teasingly.

Hannah scoffed, “You’re aware I have no desire to be in a romantic or sexual relationship with anyone let alone my master.”

Castiel hummed as he tossed the used tea bag into the bin, “Good because I have no desire to be in a romantic or sexual relationship with my familiar.” He said simply, bringing the cup to his lips and blowing the tea slowly before heading out of the kitchen and towards the stairs. He could hear Hannah following, her footsteps getting lighter as she returned to her kitten form.

Once in his bedroom he placed his cup of tea down on his desk and stripped of his wet clothes, changing into dry black silk pyjama bottoms before slipping into his bed with Hannah curled up at the end by his feet. He picked up _The Dwellers_ , finding the page he was on and beginning to relax as he alternated between reading and sipping his tea until he was too exhausted to keep his eyes open and fell asleep, the book falling onto his chest that rose and fell steadily with each breath he took.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably a really short chapter but!!! Also sorry it took me so long to update I had my datefriend over and a lot of college work <3


	6. Tomorrow Never Knows

When the sun rose in the morning Castiel burrowed his face into his pillow and tried to push himself back to sleep, ignoring the patter of Hannah’s feet on his back as he took a deep breath. Mentally, Castiel decided against getting up for school and feigned a cough along with a couple sneezes to convince his father he’d caught a cold from walking in the rain. He hadn’t mentioned the fact that Dean was the one who drove him home, perhaps it was for the best. The Winchesters weren’t exactly in the Novak family’s good books though they did seem to find Sam slightly more tolerable than his older brother. Castiel believed it was because he didn’t have the usual ‘shoot first, ask questions never’ attitude that most hunters had embedded into their minds, Dean included.

Eventually Castiel found the will to get out of bed once his siblings had gone off to work or college. He padded his way down the stairs, the marble cold against his bare feet and Hannah following close behind him as a reminder to refill her bowl of food. He bit back a sigh as he entered the kitchen, stretching up the slightest to grab the box of cat food before coaching down to fill Hannah’s bowl; “You’re welcome.” He drawled sarcastically as she pounced for her food the moment he moved the box away. With a fond roll of his eyes Castiel walked over to the kettle, flicking the switch and grabbing his mug from its usual place among the many others on the bottom shelf. He then sifted through the large amounts of herbal tea before settling on white tea, placing the bag into his mug and slowly filling it to the brim with hot water.

Castiel leaned against the counter as he ran his hands over his face tiredly as he tried to run over the things he’d have to do for school; wincing when he realised he’d have to text Crowley to get any notes or homework. Even worse, if there was any homework he’d have to actually interact with the disgusting abomination. Castiel’s thoughts were cut short when the doorbell rang throughout the large house causing him to frown in confusion, perhaps one of his siblings had ordered something. He didn’t bother looking himself over nor did he bother putting a shirt on before walking down the hallway towards the front door. Whoever he expected the visitor to be… He was dead wrong.

He froze for a moment where he stood when his eyes met a very nervous looking Dean Winchester who was clearly shifting on his feet with his hands behind his back and holding something Castiel couldn’t see. Quickly, he snapped out of his shock and leaned against the door frame slightly, “Winchester.” He stated, quirking a brow at Dean, “What can I do for you?” He drawled, smirking as he noticed his jaw clench.

“I need your help?” Dean stated, looking as if the words tasted bitter on his tongue.

“ _My_ help?” Castiel asked slowly, looking Dean up and down, “Christo.” He said after a moment of tense silence, watching him intently.

“I’m sorry, what?” Dean asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“I thought you were possessed.” Castiel grumbled, sounding almost disappointed at the lack of black eyes on Dean’s face, “Demons flinch at ‘God’ in Latin I thought that would be like hunter 101.” He explained slowly at the hunter’s confused expression before sighing in annoyance.

“Listen, I didn’t come over to educated on hunting by a freakin’-“Dean started, seeming to get more annoyed with the other boy by the minute.

“Dirty witch?” Castiel supplied in a deadpan, looking away from Dean and towards the floor.

Dean sighed softly, bringing up one of his hands to rub the back of his neck, “I’m… Sorry I said that.” He mumbled.

“Wow, I didn’t know ‘sorry’ was in a hunters vocabulary.” He retorted as he looked back up at Dean, “Or is that only when you want something?” He asked, tilting his head slightly.

“Dammit, Cas. I really am so-“Dean started, sounding almost sincere but Castiel cut him off.

“It’s Castiel, you don’t get to call me Cas. I told you we’re not friends, we’re not even acquaintances. You’re only here because I’m of use to you not because you like me in fact I’m very sure you’d rather see me dead than standing in front of you.” Castiel stated bitterly, stepping up into Dean’s personal space and feeling the cold pavement outside the door under his feet, “I’m sure you’re here because Sam was too busy with school work to ask me himself I mean at least he doesn’t treat me like cr-“He rambled on before being cut off by Dean grabbing him by the back of his head and pulling him into a hard kiss causing Castiel to let out a small ‘oomf’ in surprise.

As Castiel registered what the hell was going on he quickly pushed Dean off of him, wiping his lips with the back of his hand as he tried to remind himself that the other boy was a hunter and his lips should not feel so good on Castiel’s. “What the hell was that?” He demanded, trying to sound threatening but his voice wavered. He winced internally before glaring up at Dean.

Dean shrugged slightly, one of his hands still behind his back, “You wouldn’t shut up.” He said as if it was the obvious answer.

“So tell me to shut up!” Castiel exclaimed angrily, running a hand through his hair, “And what the hell is behind your back?”

Dean’s cheeks flushed at that question, “I uhm…” He trailed off for a moment before slowly taking his hand from behind his back and revealing a gem in his hand; amber, “I asked Sammy what to get you to say sorry and he said wiccans like gem stones; you use ‘em for spells or somethin’?” He explained with a sheepish smile, “I really am sorry, Cas-Castiel.” He mumbled.

Castiel’s glare faltered slightly as he looked at the gemstone in Dean’s hand, biting his bottom lip, “That’s amber.” He murmured quietly, shifting on his feet, “It uh… Transmutes negative energy into positive and bridges the conscious self to the Divine.” He explained.

“Yeah?” Dean asked and when Castiel looked up his eyes widened at the sight of genuine interest in the other boy’s eyes. “So… Can I come in?”

Castiel hesitated for a moment before nodding, leading Dean inside standing off to the side to let him inside and watching him step over the threshold before closing the door behind him. “My dad and siblings are out.” He explained, “It’s just Hannah and I.”

“Hannah?” Dean asked with a small frown, clearly having no idea what Castiel was talking about.

“The girl I was walking with when Sam brough you to me choking on blood.” He explained slowly, walking down the hall way and immediately heading towards his mug of tea, “Or she was a girl when you met her.” He added as an after though, gesturing to Hannah briefly as he took the teabag out of the cup.

Dean’s eyes widened in shock, “Y-You turned her into a cat?” He asked worriedly as he watched Hannah chew down on her food.

“Yes, I turned her into a cat.” Castiel deadpanned with a roll of his eyes before blowing gently on his mug of tea and turning towards Dean, “She’s a familiar; a shapeshifter. I’ve doubt you’ve encountered one they’re only attracted to powerful Wicca.” He explained with a shrug.

“So she’s your dads?” Dean asked on reflex.

“She’s my familiar, dick.” Castel said as if it was obvious, “I may be a teenager but I’m possibly the most powerful Wicca you’ve met.”

“Wow, don’t get cocky, kid.” Dean grumbled, sitting down on one of the chairs at the table and placing the gem down onto it, avoiding eye contact with Castiel as he sat down across from him.

After a moment of silence Castiel decided he would be the first to speak, “I’m assuming you still want my help with something and that it is supernatural related.” He said slowly, breaking Dean out of his trance.

Dean jumped slightly at the sound of Castiel’s voice, looking up from the gem to him, “Oh, yeah.” He murmured with a sheepish smile before taking a deep breath, sitting back in the chair with his legs spread and arms crossed. “We’re usually on hunts for a couple weeks, sometimes even a couple days, but now we’ve been here for over five weeks.” He began to explain, “So, I guess we’re struggling on this hunt.” He confessed.

“And?” Castiel asked, tilting his head as Hannah hopped up onto his lap and curled up to him protectively.

“We need help.” Dean blurted out, “This witch is strong and we can’t find him.”

“Why do you assume the witch is male?” Castiel asked in monotone as he scratched behind Hannah’s ears absentmindedly.

“Sorry, them.” Dean corrected himself quickly.

“Do you think all witches know each other because I-“Castiel started starting to glare at Dean almost in unison with Hannah.

“No, no, dammit.” Dean grumbled, running a hand through his hair beginning to get frustrated. He took a deep breath, “But you could do a spell?” He suggested, biting his bottom lip.

“You _want_ me to do a spell?” Castiel asked slowly, “Wait, why the hell should I help you?” He asked quickly as an afterthought.

“People are _dying_ Cas.” Dean said with a roll of his eyes, crossing his arms again as he watched Castiel cross his legs and take a sip of his tea.

Castiel’s jaw clenched as he placed his cup of tea down onto the table with a small sigh, considering it as he leaned back with his arms crossed, “Okay.” He breathed out, “But if you try to kill me after I will ruin you.” He added sternly, quirking a brow at Dean.

“And if you turn on us I’ll ruin you.” Dean retorted with a roll of his eyes, causing Hannah to hiss.

“I love it when you talk dirty.” Castiel purred teasingly as he lifted the cup back up to his lips, a smirk ghosting over them as he noticed the flush on Dean’s cheeks.

“Stop that.” Dean grumbled with a slight grimace, his eyes tracking Hannah as she hopped off of Castiel’s lap and landed onto the floor with grace.

“Stop what?” He retorted, tilting his head in mock confusion.

“Acting like you hate me and saying crap like that.” Dean supplied with a slight snort.

“Hm… Got a crush on me, Winchester?” Castiel asked mockingly, licking his lips subconsciously.

Dean scoffed, “In your dreams, Novak.” He mumbled bitterly as he rolled his eyes in annoyance.

“No definitely not; though you do rank higher than Crowley which you should see as a compliment.” He said with a shrug, tracing the rim of his cup with the tip of his forefinger as he watched Hannah strut off to eat more food once she’d realised Dean was posing no threat to Castiel.

“Not hard to beat him.” Dean mumbled, starting to stand up and sliding the amber across the table to Castiel with a sad smile.

Castiel caught the gem as it slid across the table before looking up to see Dean beginning to head down the hallway, a pang of guilt thrumming in his chest, “You can stay for a bit longer if you want.” He offered, biting his bottom lip.

“Nah, its fine, gotta get back to my old man.” Dean said with a shrug, not bothering to look back at Castiel as he headed out the door. He could have sworn he heard the older Winchester sneeze as the door shut behind him.

 


	7. Unattainable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: alcohol and underage drinking  
> also sorry this chapter is so short uwu

A moment after Dean had left Castiel stood up to put his empty mug in the sink, sighing softly to himself as he heard the small footsteps of Hannah grow heavier; signalling her change from feline to human form. “I don’t like him.” Hannah stated firmly from behind him.

“And? You you think I do?” Castiel retorted as he began to clean his mug, not turning to talk to her.

“You do.” Hannah said as if it was obvious, “Anyone with eye sight can see you don’t hate him as much as you say. You want to hate him but you can’t and that angers you.”

“What on earth makes you think that?” Castiel grumbled with a roll of his eyes as he started to dry the mug.

“When he walked out, you look at him the way Collette looked at Cain when she wasn’t looking.” Hannah said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She flinched as Castiel’s jaw clenched and he slammed his empty mug onto the counter top, his back tense.

“Dean and I are nothing like my parents and you will not mention my mother in relation to the older Winchester again.” Castiel stated firmly, not turning around to face his familiar, “Leave me be.” He ordered.

Hannah’s eyes widened, not used to Castiel giving her orders; he wasn’t that kind of master, “Castiel, I only want what’s best for yo-“

“Now, Hannah.” Castiel interrupted, gripping the edge of the counter to steel himself. For a moment he thought she was going to try to speak up again but the tense silence was soon followed by the lighter patter of her feline paws against the marble floor and the swing of the cat flap before he was immersed in silence. He took a deep breath, his tense shoulders relaxing before carefully putting his mug away. Perhaps missing his nature walk the previous night was causing him to behave so rashly; he would have to apologise to Hannah when she returned. His thoughts soon turned to what Hannah had said, about him and Dean being like his parents… Sure his mother and father weren’t in love from the moment they met, in fact they very much despised each other. His mother, Colette, had always used white magik while his father, Cain, had been drawn to black magik; both due to upbringing, but his mother convinced him to stray away from black magik and taught him healing spells among other things. They fell in love.

But this was different; Dean was a hunter and Castiel had very strict rules on how he felt about hunters after what had happened to his mother. He would never become friends with one let alone _date_ one. Besides; hunters weren’t the type to stick around for a long term commitment especially Dean who gave Castiel a very distinct ‘womaniser’ vibe and was obviously closeted. Sure, Dean was very attractive but a lot of guys were; you had to be more than that to get Castiel going. There had to be a connection and he would rather die than connect with Dean.

Castiel took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down before turning around to head upstairs, startled when he was faced by Crowley leaning against the fridge in his usual suit and tie. “Hello, love.” He drawled out, his eyes trailing over the other boy’s body slowly before meeting his eyes, “I would have knocked but scaring you, way too much fun to miss.” He explained, pushing himself off the fridge and walking over to Castiel.

“How did you get in? We have a devils tr-“

“Painted under the rug by the front of the house that you moved the night I came over for drinks and forgot to put back.” Crowley finished off for Castiel as he sifted through his messenger bag, “You seem a tad shaken. Winchester trouble?” He asked curiously as he pulled papers from the bag.

Castiel ignored the hint of genuine concern in Crowley’s voice, his jaw clenched, “They want my help catching a witch.” He mumbled, “What are you doing here?” He asked sharply, forgetting for a moment that Crowley was a _demon_ and did not belong in his home.

“I brought your work you missed today.” Crowley explained, handing over the papers, “The things I do for love.” He sighed dramatically.

“School’s not even over.” Castiel grumbled, his brows furrowed in confusion as he took the papers from Crowley’s hands.

“Angel, it’s almost six. School’s long finished.” Crowley explained with a small frown, “Come on, let’s have a couple drinks and talk about why you shouldn’t help those denim wrapped nightmares.” He suggested, turning to grab Cain’s bottle of whiskey from the top of the fridge.

“I don’t think that’s the best idea…” Castiel trailed off as he eyed Crowley suspiciously as he wrapped his arms around himself, “The last time we did this we ended up doing something I very much regret.” He mumbled, shifting on his feet.

“Come on, Cassie, loosen up a little, and look its Friday so if you get a hangover you can just sleep it off.” Crowley chimed as he grabbed Castiel’s hand and tugged him up the stairs to where he knew Castiel’s room was before Cain or any of the other Novak’s could come home and catch their youngling with a demon.

“I _am_ loose.” Castiel grumbled as he hesitantly let Crowley pull him up the steps, “If my father catches you here when you leave he’s going to kill you.” He added as an afterthought.

“Then I guess I’m staying the night.” The demon stated with a smug smile as he opened the door of the bedroom and slipped in, “Where’s your familiar?” He asked as he plopped down onto Castiel’s bed and unscrewed the bottle of whiskey.

“She…. Angered me.” Castiel mumbled, closing the door behind himself, “So I sent her away for a walk.” He explained, sitting across from Crowley on the bed, his legs crossed.

“Ooh, that’s rare.” Crowley commented, “Going to tell me why?” He asked before taking a swig from the bottle.

Castiel smirked the slightest, “Now, why on earth would I tell you that?” He said with a roll of his eyes, snatching the bottle of whiskey away.

-

Two bottles of whiskey and five hours had passed before Castiel was finally drunk enough to have no filter whatsoever. “So, now that you’re very drunk and compliant are you going to tell me what happened with Hannah?” Crowley asked curiously, watching Castiel’s head tilt back as an annoyed sigh left his lips. They were closer now, the Wiccan now leaning against his shoulder to the point they were almost on top of each other.

“She compared us to my mom and dad.” Castiel managed to grumbled, rolling his eyes and reaching for the bottle.

Crowley quirked a brow at that, “Well… There are definitely some similarities there.” Crowley offered honestly, letting Castiel take the bottle from his hands.

“I know.” Castiel breathed out in annoyance before gulping down the whiskey, enjoying the burn as it slid down his throat. “He was here earlier; he brought me a gemstone to say he’s sorry.” He mumbled.

“Sorry for what? Being a hunter?” Crowley asked with a slight snort of amusement.

“For calling me a dirty witch.” He corrected quietly, swallowed thickly as he put the bottle of whiskey down onto the desk, slightly screwing up his alter but he’d fix it in the morning.

Crowley’s jaw clenched, “Why the hell did h-“He started before Castiel whacked him over the back of his head to shut him up.

“He thought I put him under a love spell.” He explained, annoyance clear in his voice.

“You’re too goody goody for that shit, you know the repercussions.” Crowley mumbled, glancing over at Castiel, “So, I’m assuming you didn’t do it? Squirrel’s just got a crush on you?”

“It’s cute.” Castiel slurred out, a lazy smile on his lips, “He’s cute.” He added, this time with more annoyance in his tone.

“He’s a hunter.” Crowley reminded.

“I wish he could not be a hunter. He has a nice face; hunters shouldn’t be allowed to have that nice a face. What are his freckles even?” He grumbled, nuzzling into Crowley’s shoulder slightly. He was, evidentially, a cuddly drunk. There was a moment of silence as the demon began stroking through his dark brown hair, “He kissed me again.” Castiel breathed out, Crowley’s hands freezing in his hair, “It was nice, and he’s a nice kisser. I wanna kiss him more but shouldn’t.” He rambled.

“You’re right you shouldn’t.” He agreed stiffly, looking down at the Wiccan leaning against his shoulder, “He’s a hunter, Cassie, things will never work out between you two.”

“You’re just jealous.” Castiel mumbled with a slight pout, “’Cause he’s a better kisser than you.”

Crowley rolled his eyes at that, “I’d never be jealous of a hunter, the whiskeys gone to your head.” He mumbled bitterly.

Castiel hummed, opening his eyes to look up at Crowley, “You are so jealous.” He said with a small smirk on his lips before grabbing the bottle of whiskey, “I told you I’d rather be with a hunter than ‘n abomination.” He reminded, his speech slurred.

“I think you’ve had enough, love.” Crowley commented, reaching to take the bottle of whiskey from the other boy’s hand.

“Did I hurt your feelings?” He whined as the bottle was pried from his hands.

“I’m a demon, I don’t have feelings.” He retorted bitterly.

“You totally have feelings.” The Wiccan chimed, getting closer to his face, “You have a crush on me too.” He deduced, licking his lips and smirking when Crowley’s eyes tracked the movement. He huffed out a small laugh before falling back against the pillow, “Why can’t a normal Wicca have a crush on me?” He grumbled in annoyance.

“You can have my mother.” Crowley commented, noticeably not denying the comment about his crush on Castiel.

“Not my type.” He retorted with an eye roll.

“Too female?” The demon teased as he watched Castiel.

“Too evil.” The Wiccan corrected with a slight snort, his eyes drooping shut. “You should go home.” He mumbled as an afterthought, “If this was your attempt at getting a fling with me again it’s not going to happen.”

Crowley opened his mouth for a moment before nodding slowly, sliding out of the bed as Castiel rolled onto his side with a yawn. He watched him for a moment, running a hand through his hair before reluctantly slipping out of the bedroom; making his way out of the house quietly being sure not to wake up anyone in the house.


End file.
